Be Careful What You Wish For
by The Phantom Dragon
Summary: The title says it. Alex always wished he could have a family and a normal life. But just when he's beginning to find a balance for his, two people he never thought he'd see again show up with a surprise that sends his world back out of control. NOT A MARY-SUE!*glares at random reviewers*read the third chapter before judging. Just lots of insanity with smart people.
1. Chapter I: Close Call

**Close Call**

To say Alex was pissed was an understatement at the least. Blunt had called him in the day after Christmas to inform him he had been assigned a new mission and would need to receive extra training for it. When he had told Sabina he would be leaving she had been disappointed as well as annoyed, but had tried to make the best of the situation by taking up her parent's invitation to visit her aunt in Sheffield and would only be able to drop by on her way back to America.

Two days later, he had been called in only to be told that the mission was called off. No explanation was given except that new circumstances had come to light and he was no longer needed.

_First they ruin my vacation, then they waste my time calling me in to tell me it's been called off. _Alex sulked. _It's not fair._

With a sigh of frustration he gave up. What was the use, Sabina had left the day before and Tom was visiting his brother, effectively leaving Alex with very little to do besides the mountain of homework sitting on his desk. He had finally given in to Jacks insistence that he take a break from work and gone out for a ride. With no real destination in mind, he had crossed the Thames and was now mindlessly peddling around Battersea Park Lake.

Given the cold weather and the hour the park was mostly deserted, for which Alex was extremely thankful. He hadn't had much time on his own since the stint in Australia, Jack had been far to worked up to leave him alone for long and then Sabina had come and he was to busy too have much time to think. Now, with no more than the birds and cold winter wind for company, he finally had time to allow his thoughts to take over.

Ash, one of the only friends his father had been able to have after becoming a spy; Ash, the spy who had watched his fathers back when he was undercover and whom his father had risked his life to save; Ash, the man his father had trusted to protect and care for his only son, had turned around and condemned Alex to his death.

There really was no nice way of putting it. Ash had betrayed his parents plain and simple. A fact that still set Alex seething every time he thought about it.

His parents had given Ash their trust and friendship, and what had he done in return? He had sold them out to their enemies, had practically signed their death warrant. But had that been enough? No, he had decided to finish what he started and kill the last closest thing he probably had to family by sending Alex to his death at the hands of General Yu and his cohorts.

Granted, Blunt had played a major roll in causing Ash's decision. But for God's sake, who the BLOODY HELL blows up his best friend and leads his own godson into a death trap!!?

Alex came to a stop and stared off across the lake. The thoughts were screaming in his head now, each more glaring than the last.

Was this the kind of world he was now to live in. A world where people killed millions of innocents simply because they could, where friends stabbed each other in the back to get what they wanted. A world where danger shadowed your every step, filled your days with the fear of discovery, and at night terrorized you with the darkness of the memories of your deeds that would never leave you.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and blocked out the thoughts. He remembered what his uncle had told him when he was five and had caved in long enough to tell him of his fear that Ian would disappear like his parents.

_Fear is what you make it and what you allow it to be. Either you control it or it will control you._

Breathing deeply, he banished the thoughts to the farthest recesses of his mind. Bad things always look worse in the shadows, something else Ian had often told him. He could almost see his uncle's dark blue-grey eyes flashing with inner power as he quoted the words in a continuous effort to help his nephew overcome his fear.

A pang of sadness stabbed through Alex as he thought of his uncle. It had been almost a year since Ian's death but the memories still hurt. It was surprising given how little he really knew of the man, but what little he did, he missed.

Absentmindedly, he rubbed the scar on his chest, another reminder of the world of shadows he now lived in.

Swallowing the lump that had started building in his throat, Alex turned his bike back to the trail, it would do him no good sitting out here freezing while trying to sort out the complicated tangle that had become his life. As Ian would say, sorrow clouds the mind and blocks the way to go, and the dark clouds looming overhead were definitely not helping the sadness in his heart.

Besides, Jack had promised him pork chops in barbeque sauce with stir fried noodles for lunch.

Poor Jack, she had been worried about him nonstop for the last few months. On top of caring of him and helping him recuperate after his missions she had to fend off his teachers and friends when he was away. She wouldn't tell him but he knew she worried about him when he was away, over the years she had become like an older sister to him and he didn't know what he would do without her.

So caught up in his thoughts was Alex that he didn't notice the sound of a motor until it got to loud to ignore.

Alex frowned, he was relatively close to the road but he didn't think a motor should be that loud, unless it was a couple hundred cc. Something felt wrong and Alex had learned to trust his instincts. Twisting his head to look back down the trail his suspicions were confirmed when he saw two black motorbikes racing after him.

Immediately reflexes and adrenaline kicked in.

Shoving the gear shift all the way up, Alex cursed as he stood up to pedal. He had grown another four inches over the last few months and was getting too big for his bike. The situation was not helped by the fact that the park lane was almost a third of a mile long, which meant his pursuers would be able to catch up to him no problem.

Not to be outdone, Alex started to steer toward the edge of the park lawn. If he could get to the street he could find help.

His plan was cut short as the two bikes raced past on either side of him. He frowned in confusion when nothing happened. Maybe he was just getting paranoid. After all, hadn't MI6 threatened to expose the fact that Scorpia had been beaten by a fourteen-year-old if they tried anything?

His relief was cut short as he saw the rider on his left throw something to his partner. It was the end of a length of barbwire. Alex felt his heart leap into his throat as the bikers slowed and dropped the wire across the path too close for him to be able to stop in time.

Alex stopped breathing for a second when the bike flew over the wire. He winced as the sound of the front tire blowing out reached his ears, but then he looked down and knew he was in bigger trouble than just having to ride on the wheel rims.

When the front tire had been punctured, the barbs had become imbedded in the rubber, most of the line had now rapping around the wheel and what wasn't becoming tangled in the axle had been dragged behind the bike to finish off the back wheel.

Alex only had a few milliseconds before the bike flew out of control, not wanting to get tangled with the bike, he jumped off to the side, rolling as he hit the ground. Alex gasped as the wind was knocked out of his lungs followed by a flare of white hot pain in his left shoulder.

Alex felt like barfing by the time he stopped rolling but didn't dare. Lifting his head he fought back the wave of nausea that threatened to empty the contents of his stomach on the ground and took in his bearings. He hadn't been thinking when he jumped and was now lying across the middle of the lane.

And the two bikes where coming back.

Alex tried to push himself up so he could get out of the way before he got run over or whatever they had in mind for him, but his arm buckled under the strain of his weight and he slumped back to the ground wincing. Turning his head toward the oncoming vehicles, Alex weighed his options.

The bikes were so close the engines were almost deafening, Alex was sure they intended to run him over. Surprisingly he wasn't afraid to die, interestingly he felt oddly at peace as they raced towards him. It was funny how every time he had been faced with death, time seemed to slow to a crawl and his thoughts were never what he had believed they would be.

Rather than hatred for the people who were about to kill him, he thought about Sabina and the times they had spent together.

He smiled a little as he remembered how she had saved him at the beach in Cornwall and how when they had been captured by Cray, instead of freaking out like most girls probably would have, she had helped him by shoving the drink trolley at Cray and then stopping the missiles. He would miss her and Tom and Jack, the only real friends he had now.

Jack, she always worried that something would happen to him and now she was going to be proved right. Alex new she would be devastated by his death, but at least the responsibility of caring for him would no longer be a burden, she would be free to live the life she had wanted before becoming his guardian.

Tom, Alex wasn't sure how his death would affect his friend; they had been best mates since junior-high. Alex was sure Tom would miss him, but he hoped he along with the others would be able to carry on with their lives without to much trouble.

The bikes were close enough now for him to identify them as Hyosung GT650's, both black with riders in black jackets and full-face helmets. He would die without knowing the identity of his killers.

Without warning the two bikes swerved away from each other and around him with inches to spare.

Alex was too surprised and dazed to do anything but watch as the bikes drove for another hundred-or-so feet before their drivers spun them around and sat facing him, engines idling.

Alex could hear his heart hammering in his chest as he registered what he had just seen. When they had passed, Alex got a good look at the S&W standard 9mm the rider infront of him carried, but what really held his attention was the devise on the handle.

A silver scorpion.

This meant that Scorpia had either chosen to ignore MI6 or didn't care. Both ways he was dead because these two guys had obviously been sent with one purpose in mind and that was to kill him. Most likely the only reason he was still here breathing and not a mound of pulverized mush was because they had decided to have some fun with this kid.

Alex stared dully as the men revved their bikes for a bit before releasing the breaks to come bearing down on him. It was with a sad feeling of resignation that Alex conceded the fact that there was no way he was getting out of this one. It was just as Ash had said, in the end his luck had simply run out.

The sound of the engines was getting louder when two sharp cracks sliced through the thrumming of the bikes like a knife. Alex had heard the sound to many times to mistake them for anything else, gunshots.

Glancing down, he fully expected to see the crimson stain of his blood seeping out of holes in his chest, but there was nothing. His clothes were almost spotless except for where he had rolled on the ground.

Jerking his head up, his puzzlement increased tenfold as he watched the two riders wobble on their bikes for a bit before falling over.

Thankfully his reflexes were faster than his thinking process and he bunched his legs up into his chest just in the nick of time as the two bikes skidded past him on their sides, sending sparks flying in their wake.

Alex scrunched his face as a few sparks got his cheek, but at least he was alive and breathing; not something he could say for his fellow bike-to-ground jumpers. Both of them rolled over a few times when they hit the ground, coming to stop a few feet from where Alex lay.

Alex stared in shock at the bodies for a few more seconds before he became aware that he wasn't alone. Another bike was flying up the path the same way the others had come from.

Alex watched as it passed him but the squeal of tires caused him to look back to see that whoever was driving it had spun full circle to come back at him. Before he could register it they had pulled to a stop less than two feet from him.

The driver was a young woman dressed exactly like the other two but with dark glasses instead of a helmet. "You all right?" she asked in a calm voice that Alex thought carried a bit of a frosty undertone.

Alex carefully nodded his head and instantly regretted it as the spinning and pounding resumed, once again threatening to empty whatever remained of his breakfast onto the road. Not caring for that option he lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut until the feeling passed before returning his gaze upward.

His rescuer sat watching him with a blank expression. "Thanks." He ventured.

She didn't have time to reply before the sound of more vehicles reached them. A quick glance back down the lane confirmed that they had company. Three more bikes with helmeted riders were quickly closing in.

"Get on." The command was not harsh, just urgent. Alex didn't know if he could trust her but right now he didn't have a choice. He started to comply up but his left shoulder still refused to cooperate when he tried pushing himself off the ground. With a grunt of pain and frustration he slumped back to the ground.

His rescuer made a frustrated noise and reaching down, hauled him up by the back of his collar. Alex was embarrassed to have needed help but didn't say anything as he threw his right leg over the bike behind her.

"Hold on." She ordered, gunning the engine. This time his shoulder obeyed and he managed to get his arms around her just as the first shots were fired. Not bothering to make sure he was on properly, the woman yanked the bike back around to head away from the oncoming attackers and released the brakes.

Hunkering down against her, all Alex could do was hang on and be amazed at the fact that he had survived another attack on his life.

Again.

* * *

**Well like it, hate it. Comment please.**


	2. Chapter II: Chase

**Apologize for my tardiness most beloved readers. Unfortunately my well of creative talents have been hit with the drought of(dare I say it) REALITY!**

**But, lucky for me, I have found the cure, better known as COMPLETE INSANITY...SANITY...****ANITY...****ITY...****TY**

**Chapter II: Chase**

_Maybe early retirement wouldn't be such a bad idea._ Alex though sarcastically as he clamped his arms around his rescuer and hung on for dear life. They had just exited the park and were now driving down the road at a speed that even Alex would have dubbed suicidal if it weren't for the fact that he was a bit preoccupied with things like ignoring their escort while trying not to fall or throw the bike off balance.

His driver had begun a series of swerves in and out of the traffic in order to dodge the bullets their pursuers continued to fire at them. Alex thanked whoever was listening up there that they were on the lower side of the Thames where the traffic was lighter and not in the main city or they would probably be dead by now.

As it was, he was having doubts about this lady's driving. If he had thought charging a horse through a tunnel with a train bearing down on him had been mental this had to be ten different kinds of insane. If he hadn't thought otherwise he would have believed her suicidal.

It was probably a good thing then that he had his head buried in her shoulder to keep his eyes from streaming in the wind or he would have noticed they were now driving against the traffic.

Although they had had a head start and were traveling at top speed the sound of their pursuers was still signing away in the not so distant background. A sharp crack announced that their escort had decided to add gunshots and bullets to Symphony El'Mania.

Chancing a peek behind them, Alex was quick to wish he hadn't. Five motorbikes were now nipping the dust of their tails and two SUVs broke laws that hadn't even been concocted yet in a bid to catch up.

"Are you insane?" Alex couldn't resist after nearly being flattened by a semi, although he had to yell right in her ear to be heard. His reply was an elbow to the ribs to get him back in the bike's center of gravity.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Her POV

I swung the bike down the center of the lane between cars and thought up a number of eloquent names for the nut job who had ordered this hit. What was it with men and their 'image' that they had to go all D-day with a friggen kid.

Personally a sniper on his way to school or a drive-by would have been just as easy but nooooo, they have to do the whole 'capture and torture' drama on account of the kid getting _really_ fucking lucky. Honestly, it's a blasted miracle he's still breathing to be exact.

I growled in my throat as I was forced to duck around a truck to avoid a spray of bullets. The projectiles exploding against the cab flicking paint chips and bits of metal on the side of my head. Damn it, they were using hollow points, this day was not going well.

A sudden shout in my ear causes me to involuntarily jerk and almost guillotine myself on the side of the trailer. The kid thought _I_ was insane! Oh purrrrleeeeeaaaase, he was the one who had to be all noble and actually buy Blunt's threats. Which reminds me, me and D' Gray Man were gonna have a 'leeeettle' chat when I got us out of here.

I shoved Alex back too balance the bike and took stock of where we were on the river, thankful that I had spent the better part of the last year learning the in and outs of the area. Less than two hundred feet ahead was the entrance to a shipyard next to a dock for cargo ships, if I was going to dispose of our escort that would be the place to do it.

Checking the traffic ahead, I weaved to the opposite side of the road and slowed marginally as I waited for the approaching trailerless cab I had chosen, when it was fifty feet away I pulled right into its path. The horn blaring was almost deafening and I wished I had worn earplugs but pushed the thought aside to concentrate.

3…2…1 I spun the bike to the left and through the narrow gap between gate and fence of the shipyard entrance to the pleasant sound of something going 'crunch-y' behind me. It's almost distressing the way these guys never seemed to learn that tailing someone down the wrong side of the road was a bad, _bad_, _incredibly_ stupid idea.

My little stunt had bought us some time but I would have to hurry if this was going to work. Gunning the engine as much as I dared in these confined corridors I whipped through the yard like the Animaniacs on crack, choosing the narrowest openings, slowing to kick down piles of repair materials into the path, and when the opportunity presented itself, doubling back through the maze of small buildings.

After about four minutes of this we arrived at a hanger used for repairing private yachts. Excellent for dumping my cargo while I worked.

"Ok, off the bike bucko." I nudged him with my elbow but he didn't move. "Alex?" I questioned, hoping nothing was wrong; Greg would bitch me out for the next month for not calling him if anything happened to the boy.

"Alex!" I said more urgently. This time he seemed to have heard me and after several jerky motions managed to stand and _fall _off the bike. A shimmer of apprehension sparked in my gut, I quickly kicked down the stand and jumped off to check him.

He was kneeling on the floor breathing heavily and looking like a mini earthquake. "Alex?" the commanding tone I employed finally got his attention. "Are you hurt?"

Violent shake of the head

I breathed easier. "Well in that case get your lazy hiny off the ground. I need you to hide so I can play Rambo."

He didn't seem capable of processing that last line because he peeled himself off the tarmac and stood doubled over using the bike as support. "You…you… you're insane."

I scratched my head mentally, trying to figure out what he could be referring too before I figured it out. "Oh you're one to talk," I sniped. "Do you wanna know the total cost of damage control for your little joy ride through Amsterdam?

"And he says I'm insane." I continued quietly muttering obscenities evolving around stupid little children as I grabbed his arm and hauled his whiney ass over to a ladder leading too a second floor storage. There where shelves of repair material up there, the perfect hiding spot providing he had the survival desire to stay out of trouble long enough for me to take care of our little problem.

"Get up there and hide. I'll come back for you when I finish with them." He gave me another 'you're loony' look and I rolled my eyes. "Here,' I pulled out a gun from my left hip-hostler, "I trust you know how to use it."

In his face the Beretta looked huge, but he swallowed, nodded, and took it without complaint. Evidently the gravity of his situation was finally getting to him. I watched him climb, noting the occasional wince as he used his left arm to reach for the next rung, little maniac better not try using that side to shoot or he'd probably simplify things for the enemy by misfiring on himself.

Once he was out of sight I returned to the bike and went back the way we came. I had, for obvious reasons, left the last few lanes unobstructed and I now drove back to the last corridor I messed up. My tricks seemed to have work; while the sound of the other team was alarmingly louder it had bought me enough time to stash the kid.

Now I took the time to fully dismount and hop behind the wheel of a nearby forklift. Hot-wiring the thing was a dream and I guided it behind a towering stack of pallets loaded with long metal piping I had first cut the restraining lines on.

It took another forty seconds for the baddies to show. Headed by a bike followed by on of the SUVs, the pattern repeated with the last bike bringing up the rear. Drat! All I could hope for was to crush the first set and hope by some miracle the next bike would be going too fast to stop, leaving one SUV and motorbike. Better odds at least than all of them.

I waited till the first bike slowed to avoid the nets I had dumped there earlier before hitting the lever for the forky part of the lift into 'up' mode. There was a slight creaking but happily, like all horror movie idiots (well, idiots in general), they never looked up till it was too late.

"Ooooh, she flattens that play, and the tailback has no time to stop… ho he goes doooowwwn. I don't think he's gettin' up from that hit. And the rest of the team takes a minute to regroup at the other end of the field." I happily commented from the sidelines, call me sadistic but a few too many attempts on my own cheerful personage had left yours truly with very little sympathy for the suckers.

Hey it's not like I made them go dark side.

Now to finish the rest of the home team before coach could call in back up. I wear cargo pants for the simple reason that you can stuff a lot of goodies in without creating monster protrusions that can get caught, unlike accessory pouches. Right now I dug through a pocket over my knee till I found what I wanted, a small devise that plugged into my phone which allowed it to act as a radio frequency surfer. It took a bit of fiddling before I picked up their ear-com conversation; they were heading around the opposite way from Alex's hidey-hole.

Eeeeexcelent! Note to self, get Harrison-my personal R2-D2 in human form- something nicer next Christmas other than the latest Ipad, maybe a planted connection in Apple's CEO office. Well back to business, they would be splitting up, the bike scouting ahead while the car would find a way back to search this road, oh Happy Day.

Christmas had just passed but I hadn't had a lot of time to celebrate so now I would take this as my own personal season to be jolly. A four liter jug of gasoline with a splash of motor oil(places like these are just filled with the funnest things), a pinch of something very illegal I carried in several small vials in a specially padded box, a rag stuffed down the top aaaaaaaaaaand…., as the Frenchies would say, Voila, twas time to make merry the Japanese way.

I have to say for all their blabbing these guys really needed a crash course on kidnapping spies, it took the car three whole minutes to reach the street I had blocked two lanes down. By that time I was already on another roof happily humming 'When You're Evil' by Voltaire.

What? it's a catchy tune.

Car drives up… "I, pledge, my allegiance too," light rag, "all things dark." Car slows… "And I, promise on my damned soul," swan dive my lil' present, "to, do as I am told."

KABOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Lord Beelzebub has never seen, a soldier quite like me," hm, could have done with a little more thermite but at least I got my boom and everything else was gonna resemble a mini mount Vesuvius by the time anyone got here. "Not, only does his job but does it hap-pi-ly!" now there was just the leeeettle matter of the ball brain on wheels and I would be home free.

Said idiot was making it way to easy for me with all this yammering. Eh, coming back this way? Well let's see how you like me now suck-ah.

A suitable building three blocks over provided a nice overlook, the dude was so far off I even had time to ensure he would be coming this way by blocking all the other roads closest to where the GPS on his phone said he was.

The stray finally had the decency to show, approaching at a cautious speed incase there were more booby traps. Sadly he still didn't have a clue about overhead dangers. I was so bored I was actually starting to feel bad for this guy; it had been one of Greg's first lessons, check all angles for possible hostilities and that most non professionals tended to ignore up for some strange reason.

Ah well, couldn't be helped, I could just make up for it by yelling a bit louder at Blunt later. I took my time aiming till he was just past halfway down the lane before putting a hole in his chest. I find when shooting bikers it's bad philosophy to aim at the head since the helmet can slow, and if they were _very_ lucky redirect, the bullet.

Coast clear I dragged myself back to the hanger. "Alex," I called, 'you can come out now."

No response.

Okay so either he had been a complete bitch and played hooky or he was being smart and staying quite until he could identify me. One way to find out. "Alex, get your whiny little ass down here or I do I have to come up and drag you down."

Something clicked and my senses relaxed. "Alex put the damn gun down before you shoot yourself in the foot or something else equally stupid."

"How did you know it was me?" The muffled voice echoed hollowly somewhere close to my left on this level. Hm so he had come down and hidden on the other side, seems he still had some brain cells left in my department of the woods after all.

"Bad guys don't keep their gun's safety on and wouldn't have waited for me to stop before shooting." The boy emerged from behind some boards but continued to keep the gun trained on me.

"Who are you?"

I ignored the demanding tone and instead addressed a more obvious issue. "If you're planning to shoot me then you might want to bend your arm a bit or the recoil is gonna send you back into those cables." I almost wanted to laugh at the look on his face. "Beretta's have a strong back kick and it'll probably break something in your elbow since your muscles aren't strong enough to support it."

He blushed but didn't drop the weapon. "Who are you? Do you work for Blunt?"

"Do me a favor," I said dismounting and slowly approached him. 'Don't mention the hairless monkey-dick till I actually have to go see him, OK?"

I held out my hand for the gun and waited patiently, it would have been no sweat to disarm him but we hadn't gotten off on the greatest of foots and I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

We stood for several seconds before he finally conceded and released his grip to offer me the handle. I wordlessly took the gun and reengaged the safety before returning it to it's hostler. It took him a bit more to finally climb on the bike behind me but I was in no hurry.

We were about a third of the way back to the entrance when my senses started tingling. I pulled over and retrieved the radio doodad to see if anyone had been genius enough to make that call for backup.

"Target two clicks north-west. Team one take left wing, team two right." Gah, nooooooooo how did they know where we were. I had checked all my gear just this morning so I knew it couldn't be me, which left Alex.

"Alex get off the bike." I ordered. Thankfully he didn't question as I pulled out a small scanner and checked him for possible bugs. Nothing blipped so that left… "Alex do you have your cell phone?"

He gave me a look and slapped the item into my extended hand. I nodded and dropped it on the pavement where I was about to introduce it to my boot sole but then thought better of it. If they were tracking the chip then I could pick the ground and they would follow.

My little radio surfer, which also GPSed the point of origin, indicated four separate vehicles, most likely cars. Alrighty then, let's play. There was a nice empty lot on the loading dock and I had some new toys I wanted to try out.

All my guns today were Beretta 98F semi-automatics since they are awesome for popping hanger-ons at longer distances, but the one under my left arm was a rare 93R Greg got me for my birthday last year and that one of my CIA friends had sent me something extra special for Christmas for.

"Why are you changing cartridges?" Finally Alex could ask something intelligent without whining. OK maybe not so much whining but I was too busy enjoying my bad mood to be nice. I smiled wickedly at him and replaced the gun. "You'll see."

This time I didn't bother with subtle but made for the waterline like the Reaper was after me, well he probably was anyway at this rate. The other side was slow to catch on which meant no adrenaline rush this time, bummer. I ditched the kid again just before I got out in the open.

The lot was roughly three thousand feet square and I managed to cover about two thirds of the distance before the first car got there. I put on a burst of speed for another five hundred feet before doing a 180 to face them. By now they had been joined by the second team and were fanning out to flank me. Well we couldn't have that.

Removing my dooshed up gun, I released the safety and set it to full automatic. The beauty of the 93R is it fires in three round burst per pull of the trigger and has a twenty round magazine, five more than its politically correct modern cousins.

"Note to the audience," I said in my best 'The Mask' toothy voice impersonation, "the stunts here are performed by trained professionals. Don't even think of trying this at home if you don't want your parents to send you to North Korea for your prep school years like they've been threatening since you were seven.

"Awwww ain't that just adorable." All the cars had a shooter in each window except the driver's. "Well, duty calls."

One downside of the Beretta was its effective range was only about fifty meters. Even with the extra fun it still would be close. Huh, guess I'll get my kicks after all. Happily they had spaced themselves only about forty feet apart which was nice of them, meaning I didn't have to be a genius to do this.

I gunned my bike and waited till someone got itchy fingers then pulled a hard left away from them. This way there would be only one person to aim at me per car for about five seconds and they would have to be careful not to hit their own guys.

The one thing I hate about this country's transportation system is that besides their city traffic sucking majorly, they drove on the left side, making it difficult to aim and drive the bike at the same time since I would have to stick the throttle on cruise control because aiming across my body with my left hand was most definitely not in the 'brilliant ideas' section. Ah well, can't be helped.

I made it to the last car without too much trouble, aimed for its engine and fired. The pat, pat, pat of the little automatic was a thing of beauty as I zipped past and banked right. A blast of hot air accompanied a bang and a fireball going up behind me, weeeeeeeeha!

The fireball, smoke, and raining car bits hid me as I puttered back to circle around behind them. And while they all were busy recovering from the confusion the shockwave provided I took the liberty of another spin down their front, spreading the love.

My background couldn't be any better if Hollywood was sponsoring it. "Ssssssmoke'n!" To bad I was the only one who thought so.

"Hello again, annoying child," I XXXL grinned at Alex who was still watching the fireworks when I pulled up. "How do you like my artwork?"

"You! Are! MENTAL!" was all he could manage as something in one of the automobiles went skyward.

"Hm, let me think," I assumed the 'think' position as I continued. "Ninety miles an hour divided by sixty equals 1.5 miles a minute. Which comes out to eighty-two hundred fifty feet divided again by sixty, roughly averaging a-hundred forty feet per second give or take a few inches. So on average about six seconds is what it would require to run a lasso around the stronzo's** (1)** and be back in time for a siesta.

"Any questions? Genius." Ok I'll be honest, it would take more than that since I hadn't really included dodging Dr Evil's henchies and having to recalculate to get back in front, but I have found over the years that BS-ing is an awesome way of avoiding pointless blabbing.

And my computation wasn't all that far off. The guys on the other side of the vehicles would, on average, take about three-to-five seconds to crawl up to shoot over the car roofs, giving me a small reprieve. And they really couldn't shoot me through their own guys or my smokey treeeeeeaaaaaat.

Hee hee, common logic, and lots of explosives, still wins out in the end. This is why I have Hephaestus as my personal saint.

"Yeah," arrrrrg. "What was that you used to blow them up? Regular bullet wouldn't do that."

Oops, time to get back to labor mill, bummer. "They're incendiary rounds. A friend made them and don't bother asking what he put in them cuz he won't tell me." At least I said it seriously so he believed me. Even if he did not I really didn't know what Pix shoved in there, he was like a bartender from hell who enjoyed keeping his babies a mystery till the customers had too many complaints.

"Anything else," Ok no more bad guys, pwease be nice Mr Demon side.

"What's your name?"

AH, I thought he'd never ask. "Nikola, you can call me Niki.

"Are you gettin' on or do you want me to strap you on?" That friend of his must really work overtime if he was this inoculated too insanity because he said nothing more but silently joined my on the bike. And I for one was happy enough not to look for teeth in the horse's mouth.

**(1) Look it up in your Spanish handbook(yes I know you must have one sitting somewhere in that room of yours) since I somehow get the feeling the editors aren't gonna like it.**

* * *

**Okay maybe I should have waited till tomorrow to write this. But I just couldn't help it. Me years of never-ending search has finally been rewarded, I found my beloved The Mask cartoons. Oh those were the days of television glory; it doesn't get any better than this. My brain was gone long enough my plot bunny listened for once and squealed what it was holding out on me all this time.**

**Well enough reminiscing. Evil's a foot and duty calls. So until we again meet, I bid you all 'adieu' and goodnight. **

**But if you're really serious about hearin' from me again, then hit that glowing blue button down there that says 'Review' and let me feel the loooooove. **

**See ya!**


	3. Chapter III: Do I Know You?

_**So no doubt by now you are all wondering about our newest cast addition and her less than sympathetic views on Alex if not actually dreaming of feeding her to the crocs-if what some of my reviews are anything to go by-, but not to worry there is a very good reason for it so don't go cutting deals just yet.**_

**Chapter III: Do I Know You?**

Alex sullenly maintained a fingertip hold on Niki's jacket as the landscape flew past unseeing eyes. After leaving the wreckage of their pursuers she made a beeline for the edge of town, their only stop being when he asserted his refusal to continue without proper safety. Despite the rather colorful language used and his general aura of dislike she simply shrugged, double parked at the nearest store, and bought him the first helmet he tried on that fit even though he'd purposely picked the most expensive one available.

Outside the city proper she started in no general direction, taking multiple side roads and just plan going in circles until Alex was truly and utterly lost. Even if he managed to leave he had not idea which way to go seeing as he'd kept his eyes closed for the most part since she drove well above the speed limit and took corners like a barrel racer. Finally he noticed a slowing of the bike enough that he was able to crack an eye and take notice of their surroundings without thoughts of crashing into a wall filling his head.

They were in an upper end suburb with houses on private plots that looked like they belonged in a Christmas movie set. In fact most of the homes still sparkled with ornaments and lights that had yet to be taken down once the residents children got over the seasonal spirit. They passed through several such streets before pulling up to one of the more remote residences. Niki brought the bike to a stop and again nudged him with her elbow which seemed to be her preferred way of communicating. He slid off and this time managed to stay upright as he took in details of the place.

The property was surrounded by a head-high evergreen shrubs that hid it entirely from the street, matter of fact he wouldn't have know it was there if the wrought iron gate and matching green fence hadn't been artfully strung with small white Christmas lights. It also seemed to be situated at the edge of the residential area as all he could see further down the road was forest and lots of white. His attention returned to the gate as Niki finished punching the code in a box hidden at the base of the gate.

"C'mon." She turned and flashed a smile bright enough to match the landscape that he was taken back for a moment. In the end all he could do was follow her as she pushed the bike through the double gate before it rolled back. The Chris Cringle home planning continued inside, artfully rumpled snow yielded to a fort and snowman- complete with hat, scarf, and carrot nose- on a lawn with several pine trees that had a rope swing hanging from the branch of one in the corner of the property.

If all this hadn't been at polar opposites too what he had been expecting than the house was half way across the universe. Two stories in black and woody brown complete with double sitting room window, porch, and wreath on the front door. All cheerfully decked in gay seasonal décor.

Alex's was alerted to the fact that his jaw was red carpeting the walk when Niki giggled and reached over to push it back in place. "You're not gonna make plumes if all the hot air gets frozen on your tongue." Still grinning she led the blushing boy around the side too a garage she buzzed open with a beeper on her key chain. Somehow the normalcy of that shocked him back into the right state of mind.

"Where are we and who are you?" Once again Nike just smiled and parked her bike next to a Savrin. He made use of the moment she took to check it over to observe his surroundings. It looked like a perfectly ordinary private garage, stuffed with basic odds and ends, with one corner dedicated to vehicle upkeep equipment. The only thing he could poke a finger at was the place was large enough to hold a second car which was a sparkling new Lamborghini Aventador.

"You can explore later," Niki brusquely ended his visual tour. "Right now there are some people who I am sure are _dieing_ to see you. Shoes off in the house."

Holding her own boots and the backdoor open, Niki grinned another one of those smiles that would have been more suited on an overactive twelve-year-old than a cold blooded killer. Alex somehow managed to ignore that fact and pushed past her. His shock returned in force upon discovering himself in a brightly light kitchen filled with tempting smells wrapping his senses like a warm elixir. Niki must have noticed because she chuckled, dropped her gloves on the counter, and prodded him between the shoulders in the direction of the front hall.

"Honey! I'm hooooooooome!" This said in exaggeratedly loud tones had Alex jumping almost out of his socks. He was pretty sure if he were a cat he would most likely be hanging from the ceiling fixture fur on end.

"WHERE IN THE NAME OF LENIN'S LEPROUS SKULL HAVE YOU BEEN?" The bellow followed by a long string of fluent curses in several languages had Alex wincing while Niki remained perfectly casual with hands in pockets and smiling sweetly. Footfalls booming from the stairs at the end of the hall heralded the person's decent. With one last line that Alex thought sounded like German, but wasn't fast enough to pick up on, the source came into view and barreled to a halt.

The Alex and the newcomer stared in shocked silence at each other for about three-quarters of a second before the later turned on Niki.

"Care to explain?" he stated in a neutral voice that somehow still carried heavy undertones of anger.

"Hi Yassy." Niki chirped and shrugged her jacket off one-handedly while using the shoe-hand's last two fingers to levy open the coatroom door. The two males blinked dumbstruck at the girl who pointed at Alex's shoes and held out her hand for them. Alex had no idea what to do so simply opted on following Niki's lead for now. Carefully watching the man as if he were a crouching tiger, Alex was easily induced into handing over his own coat and scarf to the Cheshire Cat resembling girl.

"Niki, what is going on?" The softly broached question froze Alex like a deer in headlights.

That voice…_no_, there was _NO_ way…

Almost afraid of what he would find Alex inched his head to look behind him. His body caught up much faster.

"Alex?" The question was all he had time to process before he was caught up in a crushing hug. Before he could even begin to register this fact he was let go and held at arms length where his brain barely managed to confirm that his eyes were not wrong and in fact the arms did belong to the one person he was sure he would never again see in this life.

This last bombshell in a long day of stressful surprises was finally too much for him to handle. Suddenly the world tilted on its axis and started fading away. The last thing he was aware of was panicked hands catching and clutching him to a warm chest.

"Well," Niki wise-assed, "that went well." Her comment earned her twin killer glares. "What? 's not my fault," she grouched.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"….ex…Alex!" Alex groaned as light filtered back into his world and immediately coughed at the scent assaulting his sinuses that brought his body fully up to speed. He was lying on what felt like a couch with sunlight coming from somewhere in front of him.

"Good you're awake. How do you feel?" Alex frowned and followed the hand that held the small satchel of smelling salts up the arm to see who was talking. His brain almost shut back down but then went in the opposite direction as it realized another possibility.

"Am I dreaming?" he frowned.

"No," was the reply, "you're very much awake." That had only one logical explanation.

"Ian!" he cried, flinging himself at the man and hanging on like his life depended on it. "You're alive!" he relaxed and buried his face deeper in his uncle's shoulder, trying not to choke on the emotions clutching at his chest. "It was all just a _really_ bad dream after all."

Someone cleared their throat awkwardly behind him. "Um, Ian, perhaps you should tell him before we have to deal with unnecessary emotional fallout from that assumption." Alex jerked out of the hug as his heart dropped through the floor when he saw who was talking.

Yassen Gregorovich sat perched on the arm of a single couch behind Ian, somehow managing to look both serious and awkward at the situation presented to him. Alex slowly pulled back and eyed the man suspiciously. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Easy Alex," Ian soothed as he tried to push the boy back down. Although Alex was awake he hadn't missed the tension lines in his jaw, clear indication that only the possible threat the other man might be presenting was keeping him from collapsing again.

"Why is he here and how are the two of you alive?" He demanded, backing cautiously away from his uncle.

Ian sighed and shoved the end of the blanket covering Alex toward the boy, leaving him a clear seat at the other end of the couch. He had known this wouldn't be easy but why did Niki go and have to screw it up royally like she was wont to do on occasions like this. He could swear she shut off her tact out of the field just for the fun of driving him insane.

"It's a long story but the main points are that Sayle hadn't counted on my loyalties lying elsewhere when he ordered me to dispose of your uncle. I was wearing a vest when Cray shot me, so beyond a cracked rib that had the bad luck of grazing my lung it was mostly just a flesh wound." Yassen provided and shrugged. Emotionalism was more Ian's department and right now he was to busy playing the guilt theme to be of much help to the situation.

"Ian?" Alex turned to the man for confirmation.

Ian sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was most certainly not the family reunion he had planned but he couldn't say he was totally unhappy with the situation. He just wished he could have told Alex in his own way and time but _Niki_ had decided otherwise, as usual.

"It's true, and like he said a long story. But he got it in one." Seeing Alex's questioning gaze he elaborated. "Yassen has been working as an informant for MI6 for a number of years thanks to your father and has been one of our main sources of intelligence on Scorpia. He saved my life."

Alex looked the man like he had grown another head when another thought took up residence. "How do I know you're real and this isn't some elaborate setup?"

Ian nodded in approval at the boy even though the blatant distrust hurt. But he really shouldn't have been surprised given what Alex had gone through. "Ask me something only the real Ian Rider would know."

Alex rooted around in his brain for a bit as he tried to think of something MI6 and Scorpia might have overlooked or wouldn't be able to know despite their persistent digging.

"When I was nine you came back from a trip in Japan, what did you bring me and Jack?"

"I got Jack a silk embroidered fan and you a little stuffed dragon. You dropped salsa on it when she tried to wrestle it from you so you could eat her tacos that night." Ian smiled at the memory; it was one of his favorites since it was he who had to show Alex how to get the stains out before he let the boy sleep with it, the end result being them both getting wet in an all out suds fight.

Alex didn't give any outward sign if the answer had been correct but passed another question. "The year before that what happened at Christmas?"

Ian actually had to laugh when he recalled the incident. "I told Jack I wanted you to learn how to lie and she took great liberals when I told her she could do it any way she wanted.

"She took you to a mall and between the two of you convinced the toy section manager a shelf had collapsed on your head and she intended to sue. With the result of you being offered free charge for everything you bought there that day." Ian almost laughed at the memory of Jack lugging in a beaming Alex under a half mile high load of toys of every possible description.

"After that?" Alex wanted the whole list since the only thing in there an outsider couldn't have known was the part where Ian wanted him to learn how to lie.

Ian's grin adopted a slight grimace. "She made us camp in the living room with the airbags she got and a sheet tent. And you," he pointed an accusing finger at Alex, "ate half the s'mores she made for the movie we watched before bed which meant we had to chase you around the house until the sugar rush _finally_ wore off at 2AM."

Alex still did not acknowledge Ian's answers but turned his attention to Yassen. "What is the last thing you told me before you di… passed out?"

Yassen bent his head to stare Alex in the eye. "I told you your father was an assassin. I told you to Venice and find Scorpia. That that was where you would find your destiny."

Alex slumped back in shock. For a year, a long, mentally and physically _painful_ year, he had thought his last living family member dead, only to find him still alive and in the company of a man he believed responsible for Ian's death. The sudden weight of this reality left him drained and dizzy.

Ian immediately noticed the faltering in his nephew's demeanor and took advantage of it to help him lay back against the cushions before he collapsed again. "Damn it what did Niki _do_ to you?"

"Nothing," the wounded protest announced said tormenter who entered carrying a frosted glass and mug topped with foamy white.

"Nothing?" Ian said in disbelief. "He has a sprained shoulder."

"I told you he fell off his bike and banged it up before I got to him," she pouted.

"And the fact that he almost got hypothermia from riding on that bloody bike of your's?" Alex had never really seen Ian seethe but somehow watching his uncle being overly protective gave him a warm feeling he hadn't realized he'd been missing all along.

Niki managed to look appropriately guilty. "Sorry but I was over exited and wasn't paying attention.

"And besides," she huffed in self-defense, "you're over exaggerating again. I was in front so if anyone had a remote possibility of freezing it would have been me." Setting the mug of the coffee table she held the glass out too Alex who was doubly reminded of afore mention injury when he leaned on that arm to accept the cup. Ian immediately caught the grimace and slid a hand behind him to help him sit while Niki grabbed two pillows off a stack on the two-seater and tucked them behind him.

Once he was settled Niki dangled the glass in front of his nose with a too bright smile. "Up and at'em Cubby." Alex scowled at her but accepted it and sniffed the contents hesitantly.

"Whiskey!" he looked at her in shock.

Niki bobbed her eyebrows cheerfully. "Best nerve meds God ever pissed up."

"I just fainted and you're trying to get me drunk." Niki rolled her eyes and parked on the table corner nearest him. "It ain't _that_ much." She stopped and gave him a look. "Unless you're seriously that light a weight."

Alex wrinkled his nose and caught Ian frowning at the girl in disapproval. She simply shrugged and looked bored. Inwardly sighing he held his breath and gulped as much as he could in the first go. It was a good thing he didn't try holding it in his mouth but drank it straight down because it only took half-a-second for the alcohol to hit his taste buds. Coughing violently he couldn't even muster breath to swear as the liquid burned its way down his throat and mad his teeth feel like they were melting.

Ian immediately swiped the glass from his to-tight grip and patted him on the back till he breathing eased up. Scowling he thrust the offending object at Niki who shrugged and took it before picking up the mug to offer to Alex. Ian glared at it prompting Niki to roll her eyes and huff. "It's just cocoa, geez. Nothing stronger than caffeine."

At the mentioned possibility of something hot that wasn't going to make him cough up a lung Alex was far from hesitant to accept the second drink which he immediately took a healthy sip off. The thick creamy liquid was just a degree or two over his general comfort zone but still felt wonderful as the rich flavoring of sugar and chocolate with hints of vanilla coated his mouth, wiping away the sting of the last few remaining traces of alcohol. Taking another eager sip with a generous helping of the cream topping he sighed and relaxed back into the pillows as the warmth expanded from his core through his limbs and up to his head to create a pleasant floating state of being.

"Do I get some?" The question in an unmistakable teasing manner snapped the spell and Alex was once again treated to a shock when he realized it was Yassen who had asked. The assassin was grinning at Niki who just regarded him like something on her shoe.

"I think you're perfectly capable of making your own drinks Yass." Yassen feigned hurt then pulled a pouty smile with…. puppy eyes? Niki snorted and stood. "I _was_ making Irish coffee but it you'd rather I…"

The Russian was quick to spring after the girl who had started moving toward the door and tried to put her in a headlock but missed when she ducked and came back up to grab the arm as it sailed harmlessly overhead. Applying a bit of body weight to his momentum she redirected his motion to the floor where she twisted the arm up behind his back. "Coffee," Yassen laughed, "I'll have the coffee." Niki maintained her hold and pulled a little higher. "Please."

Alex stared in almost equal shock to earlier as he watched the ex Scorpia assassin plaster on a boyish grin and attempted to look innocent. Niki huffed and released him. Pointedly keeping her nose up she stomped away, making sure to step on Yassen's other hand on the way.

Ian smirked as at the other man's discomfort. "Still haven't learned I see." He chuckled as Yassen ruefully rubbed the injured limb and shot him a death glare.

"It's not my fault she's got more moods than an iguana does colors."

Alex was sure he was starting to hallucinate. Yassen Gregorovich, Scorpia's best agent, the man most feared by MI6 operatives, was sulking! And at being slapped down by a teenager!

Wait! Teenager?

Alex suddenly grasped at something he hadn't quite realized earlier. Out on the road in biker gear and enough firepower to play 'I Spy' with Goldfinger on radioactive crack she had looked to be in her early-to-mid-twenties. Now dressed in dark jeans, a slightly to-big sweater with sleeves rolled up, rumpled hair, and cheesy weezy attitude she definitely looked like she could be nineteen or less.

"Just who _is_ Niki anyway? And what is she doing with you two?" Ian turned surprised eyes on him.

"You don't remember?" Alex shook his head so he didn't have to answer through a mouthful of cocoa. Ian shrugged, "well it _has_ been awhile I guess..."

"She's demonic hell spawn the gods decided would make a nice form of penance for whichever poor bastard got stuck with her." Yassen groused as he returned to his previous seat.

"I don't see what you're whining about since _you__'__re_ the one who raised her." Ian pointed out cheerfully.

Yassen glowered daggers. "She was already like that when you lobbed her off on me. So technically it's _you__'__re_ fault!"

"Still unwilling to admit there's not a god bleedin' thing they could do about my personality blueprint if their immortal souls depended on it." Alex gasped and looked around meet Niki's twinkling eyes. He had been too absorbed in the cat fight in front of him to notice her slip back in until she'd bent over to whisper in his ear.

She smirked and came around to place a tray of mugs and cookies on the table. "Knock it off already you two," she ordered and handed each man a glass before taking her own to curl up on the single couch who's arm Yassen was perched on. "So what were you spattering about this time?"

The two men glared at each other and gulped their drinks before the temptation to restart the argument got the better of them. "Uh, answers in a drought spot or something?" Niki raised an eyebrow and reached for a cookie.

"It seems Alex doesn't remember you." Ian poked random patterns with his spoon in the cream on his coffee he suddenly found rather fascinating.

Niki raised both eyebrows as if to say 'uh huh' and shrugged. "Well it has been eight years, so not much of a surprise."

She smiled at Alex. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll remember soon enough, little brother."

* * *

**Yes warm and fuzzies on the horizon, so you may want to get your riffles in case you have cuddly allergies like I generally do when the other 80% if my brain isn't marinating in Abbot Ale.  
**

**Plot ****bunny ****decided ****to**** be ****nice**** this**** week**** so ****I**** managed ****to**** get**** this ****in**** before ****my**** other ****fic****'****s**** characters ****kidnap**** me**** again ****and**** Loki**** has ****just**** pulled**** the**** puppy**** eyes ****on**** me**** so**** I**** may ****cave ****and ****torture ****Thor**** for ****him,**** the**** possibilities ****are**** giving**** me ****many ****ideas ****and**** none**** nice ****or**** relevant ****to ****this**** story.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW… pretty pwease.**


End file.
